Rock Ventures is a family of companies thank include Quicken Loans, Fatheads, Horseshoe Casinos, and oh yea the Cleveland Cavaliers just to name a few.  Bizdom is member of this family that operates out of Cleveland and Detroit.   When a company is accepted into this accelerator program they are joining an incredibly successful family.

Bizdom is an accelerator program that operates out of Cleveland and Detroit.  It was founded by Dan Gilbert a serial entrepreneur who is the founder and chairman at Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures.  Many of you know him as the outspoken owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In order to be accepted into the program you have to be willing to relocate or establish your company’s headquarters in either Detroit or Cleveland.  Bizdom is very serious about seeing the revival of these two great American cities.  I’m sure both cities are grateful for the tax dollars that are brought in through the efforts of Bizdom.

To become a member of the Bizdom family first and foremost you must have an innovative idea that has opportunity for growth.  It is recommended that you have a three member team because the workload may be too intense for just one person.  However, if you are a solo entrepreneur you can still apply for the program.  Once you have your idea and you have your team you will need to apply online.  After the application deadline is passed all applicants can expect to hear back within three weeks if they will be moving on with the process or not.  Selected candidates will be invited to in-person interviews.  They will be given a series of assignments to see how well they perform these tasks.  If you make it past this phase you will have to go through a background and reference checks.  Candidates will then give their pitch to the Bizdom leadership team.  If you are one of the lucky teams that make it you will be offered a slot no later than two weeks before the program is set to begin.

Each Bizdom office holds three classes every year.  You can still apply for fall sessions with both locations until June 7^th.  Detroit’s fall class will begin on September 16^th and Cleveland’s class will begin on August 19^th.  If your company isn’t ready to submit an application just yet there’s no need to worry.  Applications for the winter sessions won’t be due until November 5^th of this year.  Both of those classes are projected to start on February 3^rd of 2014.

We are excited to announce that we have been invited to Cleveland to get a look the 10 companies from their upcoming class in August.  Companies from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York have all relocated to Cleveland for this opportunity.  Stay tuned to get an exclusive look at the companies that will be put on the fast track to success.

More on Bizdom coming soon!

Staff Writer